June 18, 2013

Browns Fan Claims He Was Ejected for Standing in Dawg Pound

August 28, 2012 by 78 Comments

After the Cleveland Browns scored a touchdown in their preseason game this past Friday, a Browns fan named Jim Becker claims that he was reprimanded for standing in celebration and subsequently removed from the stadium, ultimately subjected to the league’s new conduct policy.

Becker’s first-person account states that, with the Browns trailing the Philadelphia Eagles 24-3, a fan roughly five rows behind he and his wife began getting restless when the Browns were on the verge of scoring, demanding that he remain seated. After the fan failed to obtain his desired outcome on his own, he sought the assistance of stadium security and the party in question was removed from the premises.

“Then the Browns scored a touchdown, so we all stood up to cheer and high five each other,” writes Becker. ” Big mistake.  Immediately, three police officers and 2-3 Tenable security guards came up to our seats to kick us out (all of us!), telling us that we had already been warned and that ‘fans’ had complained.”

Following the ejection, amidst a chorus of boos from those in the stands, Becker claims that his entire party were forced to hand over their tickets as well as identification for reporting purposes. It is not clear whether or not the reports were forwarded on to the team for any additional ramifications, including, but not limited, to a reported $150 fine and a class merely to retain ticket rights.

“I have never considered not being a Browns fan in my life until this past Friday,” writes Becker.  “I have been stupidly giving thousands of dollars away to a team that seems to have a mission to make it harder and harder to do so.  There is really no reason I can find to shell out hard-earned cash to attend the games in person.  The atmosphere has been subdued, the food and beer is incredibly overpriced, you can’t get cellular service at the stadium, and there is little to no information about other games (or stats about the game that is happening right in front of you) displayed in stadium.

“And oh yeah, god forbid you do something crazy like standing up and cheering.”

[Related: Browns Preseason Game #3: Winners and Losers]

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  • Garry_Owen

    By saying his name, you invoke the Dark Mark. Deatheaters will be here shortly, you fool!

  • MrCleaveland

    The year the Cavs went to the finals, their slogan was “Rise Up.” I wonder if they meant it.

  • MrCleaveland

    Jimmy Haslam has him stashed in the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton and is picking his brain.

  • Robbie

    My family’s had season tickets for the Browns since 1948 and my father says the standing issue is worse than it ever was at the old stadium, though our new tickets are in the lower bowl and I assume people stand-up more in that area.

    That being said, I have no interest in going to games any more because half of the time I’m standing-up or watching the LCD screens to see the game. It’s much nicer to sit around at home with friends and drink $1 beers and not have to wait in line for 1/2 a quarter each time I goto the bathroom.

  • Harv 21

    question for commenters here: if it was not a clearly crucial play in the game, let’s say you just decided to stand for a while to urge on the defense at the end of the half, and someone asked you politely and reasonably to sit down, how would you react?
    - Sit down?
    - tell then no?
    - ignore them?
    - explain why you want to stand and urge them to? (I’ve seen this one done crudely a lot, usually ending with an insult to the sitter and lots of subsequent turnarounds for more)

  • BigDigg

    I’ll say this – I’m as down on MLB and current Indians ownership as the next guy. It’s a joke. It’s beyond frustrating. The product plain stinks.

    That said the general fan attitude here on the Tribe and fan attendance may backfire in the long run. No one will blame the Dolans for moving the team to another market once our stadium contract ends if we pull 5000 apathetic people per game. And when they eventually fix the structural issues that make the current game a joke, we’re not getting our team back. Baseball in northeast Ohio will be gone for good. Have fun cheering for the Tigers (yuck), Reds (ugh), or Pirates (never).
    Time to get over ourselves. We’re not guaranteed a winner every year (or even decade) in the current system. That sucks I guess. But it can still be fun to catch a game at the Jake. And our current futility streak aside, baseball on any given night is largely a crapshoot. You still stand a decent chance to watch the good guys pull one out.

  • mgbode

    it’s tough because the team has been terrible for so long. but, I was always taught by my dad that you don’t sit at games unless you cannot manage to stand the whole time (too young, too old, or disabled/injured).

    it’s just what we did and how we cheered for games. it’s still done some places (KC, Seattle –at least for big games, college games, HS games).

    now, how do you politely tell those sitting that you would like to stand? I guess the easiest answer is to try to buy tickets near or at the back of a section. precluding that, there doesn’t seem to be any proper recourse as the rules apparently have the sitter within their rights to force you to sit.

  • architrance

    If this is really the case, I can’t imagine ever really wanting to go to an NFL game again, and especially not to The Factory.

  • Harv 21

    were you taught the same for baseball and basketball games?

  • mgbode

    basketball games at Richfield, yes.

    baseball, no. I never really questioned it (being an impressionable youth and all), but baseball games were all about sitting intently on the edge of the seat watching the game within the game (calling out defensive shifts and if it looked like a hit-n-run was on, etc.). much more laid back atmosphere I suppose (especially considering the Muni crowds). sometimes with a scoresheet, usually without though.

  • mgbode

    Josh Cribbs beat the Steelers playing QB as well (he was more effective than Quinn that game). Maybe we just need to go to a college offense to beat them regularly.

  • Garry_Owen

    Well, we have gone at them for years with college level talent, we might as well incorporate a full college offense!

  • mgbode

    hmm, Urban Meyer started his coaching career at a good historical OH high school program, moved up to eventually being HC of Ohio State. There is only 1 more step for him to be completely following in the footsteps of Paul Brown!

  • Garry_Owen

    I like the way you think, but I’m not willing to sacrifice him to the Factory.

  • NoVA Buckeye

    This is why Ohio State is King of Ohio football. Everyone’s standing in the lower deck (particularly in the big games) and there is no Big Ten or NCAA rule about fans who stand that I am aware of (if there is one, please correct me) but this is a major problem. If you can’t enjoy the game sober (or drunk), then there’s no point. I love the Browns, but I find it hard to believe that no one can stand during professional sporting events without it being considered criminal. Anyways, the Buckeyes have their first game this week and I’m happy to be at the game. If I’m told to sit, I’m going to ask the University for a refund because I was not told of this rule. GO BUCKS! GO BROWNS!… but seriously, NFL, this is why you’re a dying breed.

  • BuckeyeDawg

    Not sure that the NFL is a dying breed, but I’m with you on college vs. NFL. I’ve been to multiple Buckeyes games where the only time I sat down was during halftime…(and even that was short lived, because I wanted to watch TBDBITL too)

  • Sam R.

    This is not the Browns. This is a an imposter franchise runs by feckless idiots.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    Fantastic comment. Couldn’t agree more with every word youve shared.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    They most certainly did. I don’t think I sat for a minute of play during that Pistons series.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    Same here re: tailgating. Makes the day more of an event.

  • JK

    So we should spend (waste) our hard earned money, drive up from all parts of Ohio (Columbus for me) just to watch a miserable team with a miserable owner? No thanks & what you’re talking about sounds kinda like a hostage situation.. Come see our team or we’ll move them, even though they haven’t been good since 07? I honestly wouldn’t come to Cleveland for an Indians game the rest of this year if they gave me tickets in the bleachers & a $20 food/beer voucher. No thanks.

    If that is the case…. bye bye. No one will blame the Dolans? I think the number 455 in right field has something to say about that. Put on something worth watching, I’m not even talking a power house, maybe a team that can win, yano, half their games… then we’ll talk.

  • jeff

    browns stadium is the worst can do anything but sit and clap ive got free tickets last 3 years and wont even go any more not to mention they stink

  • BrownsGeoff

    Believe what you want but the radio and tv outlets had no problem picking up the story and putting Jim on the air. Also to confirm your idiocy, the Browns have also been in contact with Jim to apologize for their mistake.

  • Bill M

    I saw my 1st game at the old stadium in 1963 at the age of 7. I’m now 56 and all I have got to say is one thing. For all you panty waste people who don’t like noise….”STAY HOME, IT’S FOOTBALL..PLAYED IN A STADIUM NOT YOUR LIVING ROOM”… What a bunch of crap, No tailgating, no cheering, No standing.. thats why I do not go any more, because its NO FUN AT ALL!!!!!!!!! Plus the fact that the bleachers were $4 a seat, then someone called them DAWG POUND and now its $80 and its the worse teams the Browns have had since the early 1970. You get a great young QB like McCoy and the coach gets a bug in his ass after 13 games and so we get another one. Then after this years 4-12 record we will draft Matt Barclay next year, Then after one year we will probably dump him. We never give our kids a chance to grow. Its one & done, over & over.. year after year. No more money from me either at the stadium or clothing… HOW STUPID… NO STANDING TO CHEER!

  • Ryan318

    listen…i have sat behind many a fan who paid for their seat but just can’t help to keep standing up incessantly to block my view from the seat i paid for. If someone had to complain…the a** should have been tossed. You paid for the seat…SIT DOWN IN IT!!!!

  • Jim Becker

    As the fan in article above, I would like reiterate a couple of things. 1) I didn’t have any prior interaction with the angry fan until he yelled at us to sit down. 2) We were not standing the whole game (as many have suggested). I was probably standing for less than 3-4 minutes by the time I was ejected, all while the Browns were in the redzone or during a TV timeout. 3) There was absolutely no other reason given to us for being ejected other than a fan complained about us standing up.

    I stand by my story 100%, and as you can see there are many others who have had the same thing happen to them. The worst part is, the Browns couldn’t care less, even though they are getting all this negative publicity. The only person that reached out to me was my ticket rep, and he had little in the way of an explanation.

  • standorgohome

    Then your where you need to be. At HOME watching the game. Football has always been a sport with fan participation. It’s part of the thrill of the full game experience. Rather then at home. This being said those like you should stay home or sit on your butt at the game and shut up. Jim got ejected from the game because of a guy like you. All Jim did is cheer on his team. That’s a true fan. Maybe if the Browns had more fans like Jim. Then maybe they would hear and see their fans support and win a game

  • standorgohome

    As i said in my reaction. Where did the football we all knew and loved go? Just to be told to sit and not show our team our support. Why haven’t we heard anything from the Browns owner in regard to Jim or the all other incidences mentioned in this forum? They should be concerned for these fans that actually do pay to see a game. Like i said before, standing and cheering on your team is all part of the whole game experience for both fan and team. If you get mad at that then STAY HOME!
    Or maybe they can make a section for those who don’t want to show their support. That way they can sit quietly!

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